1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receptacle connector, a plug connector and a connector assembly thereof, and more particularly to a receptacle connector, a plug connector and a connector assembly thereof with improved locking structure.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,444 issued to Lang et al. on Feb. 13, 2007, discloses a connector assembly including a plug connector and a receptacle connector. The receptacle connector includes a receptacle housing, a plurality of receptacle contacts fixed to the receptacle housing and a metal shield covering a front side of the receptacle housing. The metal shield includes a top wall, a pair of side walls bent downwardly from lateral edges of the top wall, and a receiving cavity formed between the side walls for accommodating the plug connector. The top wall defines a plurality of slots or depressions. The plug connector includes a plug housing and a locking arm mounted on the plug housing. The locking arm includes a base and an overlap portion above the base. The overlap portion includes a front section, a pressing section extending backwardly and upwardly from the front section, and a tail section at the distal end of the pressing section. The front section is stamped upwardly to form a pair of vertical protrusions and the vertical protrusions can be downwardly moveable under the drive of the pressing section.
When the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector, the pressing section needs to be pressed so as to let the vertical protrusions pass through a front surface of the metal shield of the receptacle connector. Once the vertical protrusions reach the slots or the depressions, the pressing section is released, under this condition, due to its restoring force, the vertical protrusions of the pressing section returns upwardly so as to lock with the slots or the depressions.
However, with the vertical protrusions extending along the vertical direction, in order to favorably insert the plug connector into the receptacle connector, it is needed to press the pressing section firstly. In other words, without such pressing force, the vertical protrusions may be stopped by the front surface of the metal shield as a result that the plug connector can not be inserted in the receptacle connector at all.
Because the vertical protrusions of the conventional connector assembly lack of any guiding structure, it is ineffective in using. Hence, it is desirable to provide a receptacle connector, a plug connector and a connector assembly thereof with improved locking structure.